@ISIDEWITHQuestionsenvironmentStarted 7yrs agoActive 2 days ago

Should cities be allowed to offer private companies economic incentives to relocate?

In November 2018 the online e-commerce company Amazon announced it would be building a second headquarters in New York City and Arlington, VA. The announcement came a year after the company announced it would accept proposals from any North American city who wanted to host the headquarters. Amazon said the company could invest over $5 billion and the offices would create up to 50,000 high paying jobs. More than 200 cities applied and offered Amazon millions of dollars in economic incentives and tax breaks. For the New York City headquarters the city and state governments gave Amazon $2.8…  

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 2k Maryland voters.

66%
Yes
34%
No
53%
Yes
27%
No
4%
Yes, as long as the local environment is not compromised
4%
No, spend that money on improving infrastructure and the community to attract companies
3%
Yes, as long as the tax revenue will eventually exceed the tax incentives
2%
No, the government should never subsidize private businesses
3%
Yes, if the company promises to create new jobs by hiring local residents
1%
No, but punish them for moving jobs out of the country
2%
Yes, but only if local citizens can vote on the amount of incentives to offer
1%
Yes, but I would prefer lowering corporate taxes to benefit all local companies

Historical Support

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Maryland voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 Deletedanswered…3yrs3Y

Yes, cities should do whatever they choose

 @8TPZGDY from Kansas  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes, and punish them for moving jobs out of the country

 @98PJRK4 from Alabama  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, cities should do as they choose

 @9X45M63 from Tennessee  answered…8mos8MO

Yes , but only if: the local environment is not compromised, the tax revenue will exceed the tax incentives, the company promises to hire local residents, and local citizens can vote on the amount of incentives to offer.

 @9JDPKH4 from New York  answered…1yr1Y

Yes, provided that tax revenue will exceed tax incentives, the company promises to hire mostly local residents, and local citizens vote to approve it.

 @7PTCG38 from Wisconsin  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, as long as the local environment is not compromised, the company promises to create new jobs by hiring local residents, and the tax revenue will eventually exceed the tax incentives

 @8G5T788 from Kansas  answered…5yrs5Y

Yes, but every state should have their own incentive program if they choose to have one at all. This is not a federal level issue.

 @B5W3V8Q from Missouri  answered…1wk1W

Yes, if it creates new jobs for local residents and as long as tax revenue eventually exceeds tax incentives

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Netanyahu's Pre-Inauguration Gift to Trump: A Lebanon Cease-Fire Deal"

A close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump and Jared Kushner this week that Israel is rushing to advance a cease-fire deal in Lebanon, according to three current and former Israeli officials briefed on the meeting, with the aim of delivering an early foreign policy win to the president-elect.Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s minister of strategic affairs, made Mar-a-Lago the first stop on his U.S. tour Sunday before traveling to the White House to update Biden administration officials on the state of Lebanon talks, a sign of how swiftly America’s political center of gravity has shifted after Trump’s electoral victory.“There is an understanding that Israel would gift something to Trump … that in January there will be an understanding about Lebanon,” an Israeli official said. Like others in this article, the official spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations.Trump has said he wants to bring an end to the wars in the Middle East, but he also told Netanyahu in a call last month to “do what you have to do” against Hezbollah and Hamas. It is unclear what impact, if any, the Lebanon proposal discussed at Mar-a-Lago would have on stalled cease-fire and hostage-release talks in Gaza.“Netanyahu has no loyalty to Biden and will be focused entirely on currying favor with Trump,” said Frank Lowenstein, a former special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under President Barack Obama who served during the transition to the first Trump administration. If 2016 is any indication, he added, “Trump won’t hesitate to act like he’s already president when he sees an opportunity.”

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…9mos9MO

Iran Warns to U.S. Allies Don’t Help Israel, or You’re Next

Tehran is threatening in secret diplomatic backchannels to target the oil-rich Arab Gulf states and other American allies in the Middle East if their territories or airspace are used for an attack on Iran, said Arab officials.Israel has threatened Tehran with a severe reprisal after Iran fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month, with some Israeli officials and commentators pushing for damaging strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure. In that event, Iran has warned it would respond with devastating hits on Israel’s civilian infrastructure, and would retaliate against any Arab state that facilitated the attack, the officials said.The Arab officials said the countries that Iran has threatened include Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all of which host U.S. troops. These states have told the Biden administration that they don’t want their military infrastructure or airspace to be used by the U.S. or Israel for any offensive operations against Iran, the officials said. While the Iranian threats are vague, they have raised concerns in energy-rich Persian Gulf states that their oil facilities—long viewed as protected by an American security umbrella—could be hit, the Arab officials said. U.S. military installations and forces in the region could also be at risk in a region with one of the highest concentrations of American troops in the world, they added.While the Iranian threats are vague, they have raised concerns in energy-rich Persian Gulf states that their oil facilities—long viewed as protected by an American security umbrella—could be hit, the Arab officials said. U.S. military installations and forces in the region could also be at risk in a region with one of the highest concentrations of American troops in the world, they added.

▲  4724 replies1 disagree